This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
OAKDALE — An Oakdale man was arrested after investigators determined he lied about finding metal objects in his kids’ Halloween candy.
Matthew Blackcloud, 38 (Credit: Oakdale Police Department)
Last year, Matthew Blackcloud claimed he discovered small metal objects in five pieces of his children’s trick-or-treating candy. He told detectives he didn’t know how the objects ended up in the commercially packaged pieces of candy. The 38-year-old father was the only resident in his Burchell Hill neighborhood to make such a report and no other tainted candy was found. In response, several Oakdale residents threw their Halloween candy away or brought it to the police department to be examined. Officers and community members even got together to provide free candy replacements through what the police department called “Operation Halloween 2.0.” With the help of DNA processing and other forensic examinations, investigators determined Blackcloud was responsible for putting the objects in the candy. “If you were going through your own candy, right, and you got poked by something and you’re tearing it apart and find out what’s going on with it, then, of course, your DNA would be on it, too,” Blackcloud told FOX40. The police department reported Thursday he was arrested on suspicion of making a false report of food tampering. Blackcloud told FOX40 on Friday that he did not make anything up, and feels unfairly targeted by the police department.